What Is the Plural of Status?

Most of us have read a status update from a coworker or perhaps a friend on social media. But what if we are receiving or giving more than one status? What would be the correct word to use?

Phrased differently, what is the plural of status?

This can be a common question, and it doesn’t have a straightforward answer. To explain why—and enhance your grammatical precision—let’s dive into this topic a little bit further.

What Is the Plural Version of the Word Status?

For those in search of a quick answer, the plural of status can simply be status (with no change) or statuses (with an “es”).

That means either of the following sentences would be acceptable:

We polled a thousand Americans and had them respond with their economic status.

Each of the countries in question filed reports on the statuses of their internet infrastructure.

This makes status somewhat distinct, as many words have just one plural version. That might lead you to another question:

Why Does Status Have Two Plural Versions?

The reason that both status and statuses can be correct concerns the fact that the original word has a Latin root. That allows for an Anglicized plural (the “es” version) as well as a so-called zero plural (meaning it can be pluralized without any change).

Further complicating matters is that many similar words can be pluralized with an “i” at the end. For example, the plural of cactus is cacti. However, owing to the different roots of cactus and status, that doesn’t work in this instance. Stati is never the correct plural version of status.

Beyond that, status and statuses typically have different uses. Although either one can work as a plural, status is the far more common and accepted version. Statuses is normally used or seen only in academic contexts. This is probably because statuses is less easy to enunciate when spoken, making status the default choice for many.

Knowing this, you should choose your plural version correctly. In certain cases, some editors and professors may consider statuses to be a typo even though its use is technically accurate.

As with any fine point of spelling or grammar, the best way to learn and master items such as the plural of status is through practice, such as by using it correctly several times in a sentence or a paragraph. That will help embed it into your memory.

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